be snack aware – Page 103 – Every Step Fitness

Volumetric vs Weight measures…

March 3, 2021 Dr Nancy P

Volumetric vs Weight measures…. 🧭

This tip doesn’t just apply to tracking your calories, it’s also important for baking too! You will often find that certain items on tracking apps / recipes are measured in cups. This method of measuring though is very inconsistent. For a start – which cup? What size is the cup? Well usually this means measuring cups, but UK and US cups are actually different sizes so even that is inconsistent! The other issue is that measuring cups and spoons vary slightly in capacity from manufacturer to manufacturer. In addition people differ in their perceptions of how to fill them e.g. do you have it loosely packed, compressed, levelling off the top, heaped etc. So whilst these measures give you a ball park figure they aren’t that precise. For some things this won’t matter – a cup of lettuce for example is so low in calories that it won’t make much difference. However with certain things it can make quite a difference.

In this example, oats are often measured in cups, especially on tracking apps. A serving is half a cup which is assumed to be 40g. So you may think it’s ok to just go with a half cup when scooping out your oats. In reality though a loosely filled half cup is actually closer to 55g. This is an extra 56 cals per portion. 56 cals may not seem like much but if you were also measuring other things in your oats with cups/measuring spoons (like a tbsp peanut butter, tsp jam etc etc) and all those are out too then you’re consuming quite a bit more than you realise. If you’re doing that daily that’s over 390 cals a week, which is enough to affect your progress.

So where possible go for metric measures i.e. grams or ml on a kitchen scale if you want to track your calories more accurately, especially for calorie dense foods.

Enjoy 🤗

xxx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

I don’t have time to track my calories….

February 24, 2021February 24, 2021 Dr Nancy P

I don’t have time to track my calories…. 🍏

People are desperate to lose fat/weight but often say they just don’t have time to track what they eat. Now whilst it’s perfectly possible to lose weight without tracking calories, there’s no denying that accurately tracking them is an extremely effective way to do it. And in addition is gives you an excellent foundation of knowledge for maintaining any results you achieve.

I completely understand that it can be really stressful trying to balance work, social life, childcare or caring for other family members etc and perhaps even more so right now with home schooling/home working, but I am not sure the excuse of “no time” always rings true.

On average, in 2020, people in the UK spent 2hrs and 24 mins a day scrolling social media/messaging etc, 1hr 11 mins watching TV and 1 hr 21 mins online shopping. That’s an average of nearly 5 hrs a day! Now whilst you may claim you don’t spend anywhere close to that amount of time doing those things I bet you spend more than 30 mins on these activities (or similar ones)? Studies have shown that tracking your food; whether it be in an app or physically writing it down, takes no more than 30 mins a day. That includes weighing portions, barcode scanning items that are pre-packaged and then actually entering it into the app/writing it down and adding it up.

You don’t have to devote your life to tracking food, but if you can’t spare a few minutes to think about what’s on your plate before you eat it, you won’t make changes to what you eat and drink to reduce calories. In short – it won’t work. You have to make a change.

If you’re telling yourself you’re too busy or don’t have time to put any attention on your diet, then you’re right – you don’t – but that’s not because you don’t want to, it’s because it’s not enough of a priority right now. Once it becomes a big enough priority you’ll find you do in fact have time. Don’t kid yourself into thinking you’re too busy to track or that it’s a bigger job than it really is, and maybe reconsider the time you spend on other activities that are perhaps not as important for you?

Enjoy 🤗

xxx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

I need to give up sugar… or maybe sugar isn’t the problem?

February 12, 2021February 12, 2021 Dr Nancy P

I need to give up sugar… or maybe sugar isn’t the problem? 🥣

One of the many diet myths I hear a lot is that sugar is bad, and clients will often say they need to give up sugar. Now in reality this usually means they intend to give up things like biscuits, chocolate, cakes, ice cream, doughnuts etc. Very few people are mainling pure sugar! These foods aren’t just “sugar” – they all contain significant amounts of fat too.

As you can see from this comparison – 50g of sugar contains nothing but sugar. It’s 50g of carbs – no fat, no protein etc. All of those carbs are sugar and 100% of the calories it contains are from sugar. The jam doughnut on the other hand contains around 12.4g sugar which accounts for only 17% of the total calories. The majority of the calories come from fat, other carbs and a little protein. The foods that people commonly associate with sugar are a mixture of sugar, fat and salt which make them hyper-palatable. That means they’re designed to taste really good – which encourages you to eat more. Eating 50g of pure sugar in one sitting is actually not a pleasant experience (try it – I dare you lol!) and it isn’t something most people would do. Eating a jam doughnut or 2 though – well thats super easy. To consume the same amount of actual sugar as pure sugar you’d need to eat 4 doughnuts in one go.

So this combo of sugar, fat and salt is what makes doughnuts and other snacks so easy to over eat. That’s not to say doughnuts are bad but they have the potential to derail you from your goals because they’re calorie dense (i.e. more cals in a smaller package) and as I said they taste great so you’re likely to eat more. So it’s not the sugar thats causing this – its the combination of ingredients in these products. So vilifying sugar is pointless and a misunderstanding of where the real issue lies. In fact sugar is actually an important nutrient and the brain’s main fuel source.

In sum, sugar isn’t “bad”, it isn’t causing you to gain fat in itself and you don’t need to give it up. If you have a balanced diet then having the odd “sugary” snack like doughnuts etc is fine – just account for it in your calories.

Enjoy 🤗

xxx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Sometimes the “bad” option isn’t so bad…

February 3, 2021 Dr Nancy P

Sometimes the “bad” option isn’t so bad… 🌯

So obviously getting a chicken wrap from a takeaway restaurant is always going to be more calories than making one at home and I’m certainly not suggesting a KFC or Nandos are the healthiest meal choices. But fast food is definitely something you can have now and then as part of a balanced diet if you want to.

There seems to be an underlying assumption that compared to somewhere like KFC, Nandos would provide a ‘healthier’ or ‘good’ takeaway option. Certainly their chicken wrap would generally be considered a healthy choice. It’s a grilled chicken breast, in their signature sauce, in a wrap.

In contrast the KFC Flamin’ wrap would probably be considered a ‘bad’ option. It’s deep friend in a batter, and comes with cheese as well! However the reality is it’s actually considerably fewer calories, around 200 fewer in fact! The KFC wrap is 335 cals and the Nandos one is 537 cals. Now I don’t know about you but that surprised me!

Both these restaurants have all their calories on their website so it’s very easy to check before you order. Both are perfectly good lunch or dinner options, but it just does go to show that we need to consider our preconceptions about certain foods and whether the are “bad” or “good” and remember that ultimately it’s the calories that count.

Enjoy 🤗

xxx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

I’ve been good….

January 20, 2021 Dr Nancy P

I’ve been good…. 🤔

It’s very easy to get sucked into the idea that certain foods are inherently “good” and others are “bad”. I hear this sort of thing so often… a client may be feeling pleased that they’ve had a “good” snack – raisins, cashews and a protein smoothie. On another day they would be beating themselves up because they had a really “bad” day because they had a Mcdonald’s for lunch. The often feel like they’re blown everything, they’re disappointed and angry with themselves and feeling guilty.

Now I’m not suggesting a Mcdonalds is a “healthy” option, nor am I suggesting it’s got more nutritional benefits than the fruit and nuts. They’re both very different nutritionally, and they both taste very different too. But for many people trying to lose fat or weight they might naturally assume that the McDonald’s is a terrible option and that by having it they’ve ruined their day (diet -wise). Whereas if they chose the fruit, nuts and smoothie they would be feeling guilt-free and virtuous and like they were on track. However in actual fact the good snack has more calories and a lot more sugar, than the 6 nuggets, small fries and coke. The McDonald’s does have more fat and less protein, but is fewer calories overall.

So if you had to grab a McDonald’s (or just fancied one) it’s not THAT bad. I’m certainly not suggesting your whole diet be made up of “junk food”, but it’s important to be aware of the facts to avoid unnecessary guilt. And remember that lots of the foods we perceive as being “good” or “healthy” may in fact be higher calorie and therefore unhelpful for weight loss if you’re consuming them without realising the calories. At the end of the day, as always, it comes down to calories. If you want to lose fat or weight, then you need to be at a calorie deficit. It’s important to still have foods you enjoy as part of an overall balanced diet. So don’t sweat it if you end up with a McDonald’s now and then if you want it, but then have a dinner with a range of whole foods and vegetables etc.

Be curious about what you’re putting in your body, look at the nutritional labels on food and don’t always assume the “health” food is the best choice.

🤗